Two children are dead and scores more injured after a shooter opened fire on students during a religious service at a Catholic school in the US state of Minneapolis.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said the shooter — armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol — approached the side of the church at Annunciation Catholic School and shot through the windows toward the children sitting in the pews during Mass.
Police believe the shooter took their own life.
The two victims were aged 8 and 10.
Fourteen other children and three parishioners in their 80s were wounded but were expected to survive, the police chief said.
The shooting took place on Wednesday morning, local time — the children's third day of the school year.
FBI approaching shooting as 'hate crime' against Catholics
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it was investigating the shooting as an "act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics".
"The FBI will continue to provide updates on our ongoing investigation with the public as we are able," FBI director Kash Patel said in a social media post on X.
Leader of the Catholic faith, US-born Pope Leo XIV, sent a telegram saying he was praying for relatives of the dead.
The Catholic leader sent his "heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness to all those affected by this terrible tragedy, especially the families now grieving the loss of a child".
The archbishop of Minneapolis, Bernard Hebda, released a statement saying he was paying for the victims of the "senseless violence".
"We need an end to gun violence," he said.
"Our community is rightfully outraged at such horrific acts of violence perpetrated against the vulnerable and innocent.
"They are far too commonplace."
Shooter identified, but motive still unclear
Police Chief O'Hara identified the shooter as 23-year-old Robin Westman.
The shooter had no prior criminal history is thought to have acted alone.
Chief O'Hara said police hadn't yet found any relationship between the shooter and the church, nor determined a motive for the bloodshed.
But he said investigators were examining a social media post that appeared to show the shooter at the scene.
On a YouTube channel titled Robin W, the alleged shooter released at least two videos before the channel was taken down by site administrators on Wednesday.
In one, the alleged shooter shows a cache of weapons and ammunition, some with such phrases as "kill Donald Trump" and "Where is your God?" written on them.
A second video shows the alleged shooter pointing to two outside windows in what appears to be a drawing of the church, and then stabbing it with a long knife.
It was unclear when that video was uploaded to the channel.
Federal officials referred to the shooter as transgender, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey decried hatred being directed at "our transgender community."
The shooter's gender identity wasn't clear, the Associated Press reported.
In 2020, a judge approved a petition, signed by the shooter's mother, asking for a name change from Robert to Robin, saying the petitioner "identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification".
Chapel doors barricaded from outside
At least two of the chapel doors had been barricaded from the outside using wooden planks, police said.
Mr O'Hara said the city had "experienced an unthinkable tragedy".
"During the Mass, the gunman approached on the outside on the side of the building and began firing a rifle through the church windows towards the children sitting in the pews sitting at the Mass," he said.
He described the shooting as a "deliberate act of violence against innocent children".
"The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible."
The school's principal, Matt DeBoer, said teachers and children responded heroically.
"Children were ducked down," he said.
"Adults were protecting children. Older children were protecting younger children."
Vincent Francoual said his 11-year-old daughter, Chloe, survived the shooting by running downstairs to hide in a room, and pushed a table against its door.
But he still isn't sure exactly how she escaped because she is struggling to communicate clearly about the traumatising scene.
"She told us today that she thought she was going to die," he said.
Minneapolis Mayor livid over gun violence
Speaking at a press conference, the Minneapolis Mayor said he was "deeply saddened and sorry" and hit out at gun violence in the United States.
"[Children] should be able to go to school or church in peace without the fear and risk of violence and their parents should have the same kind of assurance," Mr Frey said.
"Don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying."
The school shooting was the latest in a string of deadly gun-related incidents to unfold in Minneapolis in just 24 hours.
One person was killed and six others were hurt in a shooting on Tuesday afternoon outside a high school in Minneapolis.
Hours later, two people died in two other shootings in the city.
'Horrific act of violence'
US President Donald Trump said he had been "fully briefed" on the incident.
"I have been fully briefed on the tragic shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota," he said, in a post on Truth Social. "The FBI quickly responded and they are on the scene.
"The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation."
The White House later published a presidential proclamation ordering all US flags be flown at half-mast at federal properties, military bases and embassies, until August 31.
Governor of Minnesota Tim Waltz said on social media that he had been briefed on the shooting.
"I'm praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence," Mr Waltz wrote on X.
'Makes me sick to my stomach'
An eyewitness, Bill Bienemann, who lives a couple of blocks away and has long attended Mass at Annunciation Church, said he heard dozens of shots, perhaps as many as 50, over as long as four minutes.
"I was shocked. I said 'there's no way that could be gunfire'," he said.
"There was so much of it. It was sporadic."
Mr Bienemann's daughter, Alexandra, said she attended the school from kindergarten to eighth grade, finishing in 2014.
After she heard of the shooting, she said she was shaking and crying, and her boss told her to take the day off.
"It breaks my heart, makes me sick to my stomach, knowing that there are people I know who are either injured or maybe even killed," Ms Bienemann said.
"It doesn't make me feel safe at all in this community that I have been in for so long."
The pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school had an all-school Mass scheduled at 8:15am Wednesday morning, according to its website.
Monday was the first day of school.
US Senator for Minnesota Tina Smith said she was monitoring the situation, and was "grateful for the quick response of law enforcement".
"It's the first week of school. These kids should not be fearing for their lives," she wrote on X.
ABC/AP
